So the New York Rangers held a “closed door players only”
meeting after their 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in game 4 of their
playoff series and after said meeting several players were reportedly up that
the Garden fans were booing Rick Nash in the 3rd period.

The players said that Nash didn’t deserve such treatment as
he alone was not to blame for the loss. I have to agree with the players as if
I had been at the Garden I would have been booing the entire team because with
the exception of Cam Talbot those who were dressed contributed to the horrible
performance Ranger fans witnessed.

Not going to rehash all the horrors of the game as by now
you have most likely have seen, read or listened to them plenty of times. The
only thing really that needs to be said is that in a game that the Rangers
themselves called a “must win” that the Rangers played without question one of
their worst games of the season.

For me it goes back to the mantra I have been saying all
along that the Rangers badly lack the “go to” player; the guy who will be the
leader of the Rangers not with his words but his actions. The player in a game
like last night would rally his teammates by telling them to follow him into
battle.

But the Rangers don’t have such a player and sarcasm aside
there really was plenty of players who failed to play a solid game last night.
Despite his failures to score Rick Nash at least took 4 shots as only Carl
Hagelin took more than 1 so on that part I give Nash some slack.

But sorry dude you get paid 7.8 million to score goals and
you aren’t doing that neither is Martin St. Louis so expect the paying
customers to let you know what they think. The closest the Rangers have to a “go
to player” right now is Mats Zuccarello and something is very wrong with that
picture.

What this is also going back to is the “Rangers are competitive”
feeling several fans have because the team has made the playoffs in 8 out of
the last 9 years. I wonder how many are feeling that the Rangers are “competitive”
in this playoff series?

I am not trying to knock anyone but to me when you say “competitive”
then you can’t simply accept just making the playoffs as a sign of a successful
season. No what you have to do is see what the team did in those playoffs and
use that as your measure of a successful season.

In my book being competitive means you are contending to win
the Stanley Cup every year. No you don’t have to win it every year as nice as
that would be but when the Ranger season ends can you answer the question:

Do you think the Rangers are headed in the right direction
towards a cup? Even before the playoffs began almost everyone I talked with
said they didn’t think the Rangers were serious contenders for the Cup. That is
where the biggest change has to be in the mindset where just making the
playoffs is acceptable.

We need to change that mindset to where contending for the
cup is the only acceptable goal and eventually winning said cup as the only
goal. Until we do then just like in 7 out of the last 8 playoff appearances
that the Rangers will have failed to finish among the final four teams in the
playoffs.

Keep booing folks because it is time for a change in
mindsets and as Ranger fans we deserve better than winning one cup in 54 years.